Heads or Tails
by Roy Olsen
Summary: Talis Johrenson has a price on his head, and the only way to get rid of it, is to defeat the Blitz Team. Sound easy? Maybe, If his Liger ZeroX wouldn't keep falling apart!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

**Pieces**

The illusion of water spread about the Mongari Wasteland, both as a forever-distant ring of moisture surrounding the field of view, and as waves of heat rippling up throughout the same field of vision.

Talis Johrenson stood in the shadow of his Liger Zero-X, leaning back on its front right leg. His black and brown Zoid provided little comfort in the desert heat, either inside or outside of the cockpit. At least staying outside kept the air fresh.

Having grown up in the tropics, Talis was no stranger to heat—but he didn't like dry heat. His tan face held a scruffy appearance and green eyes. There were only two colors he wore: black and white. There wasn't much "style" that he carried. He liked to keep it simple. He did look good in sunglasses, though—really good.

The sooner this little escapade was over, the better. He was on a tight schedule, and needed to be in Delon City by dinner time. This was no battle for glory or vengeance—it was for money; and if he wanted to make more money, he needed to defeat better teams. But, of course, that meant he needed a better team.

Emerging from the ripples of heat, a black Rev Raptor and a ruby-red Saber Tiger walked up to the Liger Zero-X. As the two Zoids drew closer, Talis pulled his flip-coin from his pocket and began flicking it into the air with his thumb.

Eventually, the Rev Raptor stepped closest, and the cockpit hatch popped open. A surprisingly large, dark-skinned man stood up and placed his arm across his chest. "I am Sambi. I am Class-S Zoid fighter, along with my fellow pilot Gekito." Talis looked towards the Saber Tiger to see a lean oriental man standing in its cockpit. "Are you Talis Johrenson?"

"Yup." Talis flipped the coin into the air, caught it on his arm and looked at it.

"Why did you do that?" asked Sambi.

"To see if you two were good fighters."

Sambi raised an eyebrow. "And?"

Talis pocketed the coin, then looked back up at the pilot and smiled. "Let's go."

The twinkle of light shared the appearance of a fallen star—even though it was two in the afternoon. Regardless of its true identity, as it grew larger, it became even more and more impressive. It was a bit bigger than an outhouse, but its streaking descent carried enough power to destroy an office building.

The tubular capsule, sporting ground-piercing spears beneath it, slammed into the dry desert floor, blasting out a fifty-foot crater around it, and nearly submerging itself below ground.

Quivering as it moved, the smoking fifteen foot tall meteorite rose from the hole it just made. As a siren blew, half of its side opened up, revealing a spindly, five-foot tall robot standing at the core of the chamber. Sporting arms and a can-like, mouthless head—but having only a pedestal for legs—the white robot began scanning the area.

It was a Judge Robot. A Zoids Battle was about to begin.

"The area within a thirty-mile radius is a designated Zoid Battlefield," began the Judge, "This zone is now restricted. Only competitors and personnel have authorized entry. Danger! All others must leave the area at once! This zone is now restricted. Danger!"

Those words were music to Talis Johrenson's ears. He had heard them far fewer than the average Zoid fighter—the only Zoid pilot to get up to Class-S faster than him was the pilot of the Berserk Fury—so he wasn't sick of them yet.

As for Sambi and Gekito? They were washouts from a Class-S team of fighters who broke up a month ago after their leader was arrested for weapons smuggling. They were so desperate for money that they were happy to accept the ten-percent shares that Talis offered. What jokes.

Hopefully they were more intelligent Zoid pilots than businessmen.

Johrenson's little pack of creatures stood one-hundred yards east of the judge, staring south across the Mongari Wasteland. Their opponents, the Rabid Moon team, stood about a quarter-mile away from them, looking rather nasty in their fully armed Konig Wolf, an over-loaded Command Wolf and a red Shadow Fox. It wasn't often that you saw a Command Wolf carrying an AC cannon and Pteras missile-launchers at the same time. That was a lot of weight on that little guy. The Shadow Fox had no external modifications; it just looked sleek.

Talis made the final preparations in his cockpit as the judge spoke when a communication from the Konig Wolf came in. He answered it.

"Hello, my name is Chris Fenti, of the Rabid Moon team, just wanting to wish you good luck today."

"Uh-huh."

Over their voices, the call of the Judge could be heard, "Area scanned, battlefield set-up."

"Um, well, have a good time." Continued Rabid Moon's leader.

"Wait a minute, Chris." Talis took out his flip coin and flicked it up, caught it on his arm, then looked at it. When he smiled, Chris grew curious.

"What was that about?"

"Just wanted to see if I should defeat you quickly or give you a chance."

"The Liger-X team versus the Rabid Moon team," continued the Judge, "Ready…"

Chris's eyes narrowed with insulted anger, "And?"

"I won't even break a sweat."

"Fight!"

The Konig Wolf belched a powerful roar, almost as if it was extending the anger that its pilot was feeling at that time. As its AZ-5 missile pod-launcher doors whipped open, its long-range cannon also flipped into position, preparing to fire at Talis' Liger Zero-X.

_Boy, I really got under this guy's nails._

Exaber (Johrenson's name for his Zoid) fired up its armor's gears and motors, then leapt high into the air, easily avoiding Fenti's opening attack. The Liger landed directly in front of the giant wolf, raised its right leg and slapped it across the face, leaving a large scrape.

As the Konig Wolf attempted to back up, Talis charged his Zoid for the left shoulder's AZ-5 missile pod-launcher, and ripped it off using the blades on Exaber's head. Using the Liger-Zero-X' superior speed, Talis distanced himself over a hundred yards before Fenti could turn around and regain his berings.

Feeling that this was enough play, Talis extended his Zoid's blades, closed his eyes and charged the Konig Wolf at maximum speed. After a slight vibration, he turned Exaber around and opened his eyes to see that he was one-hundred yards past the Wolf in the opposite direction. The body of the Konig Wolf smoked with damage, and crashed to the ground as its perfectly-sliced legs flopped to its sides.

Chris Fenti's image popped up on the comm., "I, I've never been attacked that fast before."

"And you never will be again." Johrenson flicked off the comm.

Now it was time to see how his teammates were doing. The first to catch his eye was the black Rev Raptor. It moved as quickly as the Liger Zero-X, and dodged every attack thrown at it by the Shadow Fox. But then, it suddenly stopped. The Shadow Fox hit it with a couple of blasts, and jumped high into the air. Suddenly, Sambi's Zoid pounced from its motionless position and used its blade to slice the head clean off of the sky-diving Fox! Talis was amazed. No one could have seen that coming!

Next was the red Saber Tiger. It was equipped with an Assault Unit, and was hopping leaps and bounds over the super-slow Command Wolf—but the Wolf was pouring out a ton of ammo at it, and the Tiger was getting scraped up.

"Gekito, do you need any help?" asked Talis.

"Get away!" barked his teammate. As if re-inspired by the threat of assistance, Gekito charged the Wolf, dodging every shot thrown at it, plowed into the Command Wolf, and began tearing it to pieces.

The Judge hailed out a warning. "Liger-X-34765! Cease and desist your assault of Rabid Moon-29830 or your team will be disqualified!"

But the Saber Tiger didn't stop. "Didn't you hear that, Gekito? Get off of him!" Talis aimed his twin cannon at the Tiger and blasted him off of the massacred Command Wolf.

Slowly rising from the ground, the red feline Zoid turned to glare at the Liger with glowing green eyes. "Are you crazy, Gekito?" barked Talis, "Are you trying to get us disqualified?"

"No, you fool. I'm trying to get you closer." On cue, the living machine charged the Liger Zero-X.

"Gekito! What are you--?"

But before Talis could finish his question, the black Raptor sailed through the air and slammed into the Tiger, knocking it onto the ground and rolling away. Sambi's Zoid then ran out and stood on top of it.

"Uh, battle over." Stated the Judge. "The winner is: the Liger-X team!" The robot raised his right arm into the air, but a bit slower than usual. Talis paid little attention to what was going on at the capsule. "Congratulations on your victory, but I would suggest clearing up any further in-team disputes for future challenges." The capsule closed, then rocketed itself back into the atmosphere for its return to a Judge Satellite.

"Sambi, what was that all about?" asked Johrenson.

"Should I be direct, sir?"

"If it would help."

"There is a bounty out for your life."

Delon City was not a city. Period. It was a row of small building set up near a desert oasis that wasn't much more than a refuel-and-repair station for Zoids. Still, it was a great area for Zoid battles with lots of plains, plateaus and even a canyon or two, so Talis called it home.

The old repair shop that Johrenson camped out in was the best place in Delon City to torture Gekito. It was an old wooden construct set up right over a branch of the oasis. There was a surprising amount of moisture in the little building, which would normally be looked upon as a wonderful thing in a desert.

But not here.

The "interrogation" room was damp, smelly, and was starting to turn green. There was very little space for movement, and only a small chair and a three-by-four plywood table for furniture. It was more of a closet than a room. The only light came from a hole in the wall six feet up on the north side.

Talis wasn't a criminal, but there was almost no law enforcement in Delon City. Most of the time, things just had to be done by yourself.

"So, you're saying that Kleo Gren put a price on my head, because I beat his brother in a Zoid Battle three years ago, and he can't stand that I'm in Class-S now?"

Gekito, forced to sit in the fragile wooden chair with his hands handcuffed behind him, spit in Talis' face.

Johrenson walked around the table and punched the former Zoid pilot so hard that he fell to the floor. "You can't do that to me!" screamed Gekito, "I have rights!"

"Does this look like a police station?" countered Talis. "Look, how am I supposed to make peace with my worst enemy if I don't know who he is?"

"Die."

"You're a dork, did you know that?" Talis turned around and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I gotta take a leak."

"You aren't going to leave me here, are you?"

"Yup." He slammed the door. Sambi was waiting for him in the hall. The screams from Gekito began; Talis would let them last for a long time.

"Where did you find this guy?" asked Johrenson.

Sambi shrugged his shoulders. "Our team leader, Makity, hired him over a year ago. I had no idea that he would attempt to kill you until two days ago."

"Two days? And you didn't tell me?"

"I wasn't sure."

Talis frowned. "Well, next time, let me know, okay?" Sambi didn't even flinch. Talis stared back at his teammate. "Can I trust you?"

"I have no desire to kill you. I need consistent income, not empty promises."

Talis snorted, "Well, I guess that's reassuring.

Anna's Bar was the only bar in town, and the only place that ever saw any of Talis Johrenson's money. But alcohol wasn't the only reason why.

Flopping his butt on a stool, Talis slumped forward, facedown across the bar. "Give me three beers, Anna."

The young blond bartender slowly glided her way up to him, wiping out a big mug. "You lose today, Tally?"

"Nope. Won."

Anna blinked, then set the mug down. "Then what's the problem, hun?"

Johrenson looked up with a bit of desperation in his eyes. "Someone put a death bounty on my head."

After whistling, Anna started filling up three beers. "Dang, Tally, that's no fun."

"Oh, ya think?"

The bartender spread the three full mugs out in front of Talis. "You know who did it?"

After chugging a beer, he wiped his mouth. "Anna, if I knew who did it, do you think I'd be in here getting plastered?"

"Well," she began filing her nails, "do you at least have a lead?"

Talis grabbed the second mug of beer and looked into it. "Yeah. One of my new teammates tried to kill me."

Anna dropped the nail file and shrieked. "Does that mean…does that mean you're short a pilot for your team?"

Talis spewed out the beer he was drinking. "Oh no! Oh no, we're not doing that!"

"But, but you promised you'd give me a chance if you were ever short-handed!"

"But, but, I need a Class-S pilot…" Johrenson's facial color was completely erased.

Anna's face slumped with sorrow, "I know I'm Class-B, but I've got a Rhimos! C'mon, Tally. I'll help you find your killer!"

"But…but it's pink."

The look in her eyes told him that there was no way to win this time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**Construction**

"Pick yourself up, Sambi, and watch your left flank! Grrr!" Talis growled as a barrage of cannon-fire rumbled his Liger Zero-X. He was so caught up in covering the butts of his teammates that he was leaving himself wide open for the simplest attacks.

But these weren't simple attacks. This was the Crushed Star team, a trio of heavily stocked Dark Horns that were amazingly light on their toes—and heavy on the ammo. They were the best group of Horn Zoids that Talis had ever seen, and it was no surprise that they were Class-S.

Pushing the accelerator control handles fully forward, Talis sprinted Exaber forward and then around the impressive arsenal of the grey Dark Horn. Spreading the triple-thick Liger's blades like wings, Johrenson leapt into the air, slashing through the weapons system of the styracasaurus Zoid, ripping it clean of its only real source of power.

As the giant gattling and beam cannon arsenal collapsed onto the dry desert ground, Exaber spun around on its front feet, then dropped its rears to the sand. The Dark Horn roared in anger and charged the Liger-X. The lion simply stepped to the side—blades fully extended—and let the rampaging Zoid cut itself in half as it stormed by.

Quickly re-setting the blades, Talis looked for his teammates, and was shocked to see a pink Rhimos roll across the ground in front of him. "What the hell? Anna? Are you all right?" But there was no answer. "Crap!"

Exaber turned to face a Navy Blue Dark Horn—with its horn broken off—charging at it. Talis whipped the blades back out and swung them into a forward-pointing position. Pushing off at full speed, the Liger jousted the Dark Horn straight in the mouth, severely gouging its head before the right blades finally snapped off and the styracasaurus slid face first onto the ground. Exaber flipped around horizontally through the air over thirty yards, yet still made a perfect four-foot landing.

Cursing at himself for damaging his Zoid, Talis looked for Sambi. When he looked behind him, he saw a sight that would forever be burnt into his mind: Sambi's little Rev Raptor was standing atop a smoking black Dark Horn that was torn to pieces.

"S-Sambi! Great job, pal!" studdered his team leader.

"And to you as well. This was a difficult match."

"Battle over. Battle over. And the winner is: the Liger-X team!" Sambi and Talis looked over to the Judge Capsule. They had totally forgotten about the annoying little robot. "Congratulations on an impressive victory. Until the next battle!" With that, the Judge blasted off again.

Talis' smile quickly turned into panic. "Uh-oh. Anna!"

Crackling sounds of the welder were not music of any kind to Johrenson's ears. The slash across the pink metal armor plate was severe, and it was taking over three hours to re-weld it back together.

And this was the easy work.

The damage to the Liger Zero-X' blades took three days to repair. Talis swore never to try jousting a Zoid ever again. Rewards from the victory were substantial, but not enough to pay for a set of brand new blades and a new armor shell for the Rhimos. Especially a rare pink one. At least the blades were indestructible. The connectors were just about shot, but the blades were guaranteed stronger than the Berserk Fury's. Regardless of them, he had to pay for massive gear repairs to the stupid pink Rhimos. He was stuck with fixing all the damage to its armor plating himself. _Sigh._

What ate up most of the cash was the amount of debt that Talis had built up over the years. The last two victories had helped him pay off a few debts, but there were still sixteen to go. Having well over a dozen people angry at you for owing them money also made pinpointing the issuer of the death warrant pretty darn difficult.

_There. All done._ Talis flipped up the welding mask and checked his work. _Perfect. Only mostly lumpy._

"Hey, Tally. How's it lookin'?"

Johrenson turned around to see Anna walk into the garage, then stop by a power generator and lean onto it. "Anna! Why are you up and around? Get back in bed." Despite her slightly bruised skin, she was still beautiful. He golden hair never looked bad.

She shook her head. "No way, not until I see my baby. I need to know if she's all right."

Talis patted the Rhimos' plating above its right leg. "It's doing okay. I've completed repairs on the armor, and I'm pretty sure all the inner systems are working again. I just need to take it around for a walk."

Anna smiled. "Thanks, Tally. .I owe you one. I'm sorry I didn't last too long in the fight."

"Hey, you broke the nose off of the Dark Horn!"

Laughing out a snort, she replied, "Yeah, I shot it right off! That's why he rammed my Zoid so hard!" The two of them laughed for a second, then Talis jumped down from the leg.

"Look, Anna, are you sure you want to keep doing this? It's only going to get harder."

As her green eyes watered, the young blonde bartender looked up at Talis and answered, "I'm not doin' this just for me, baby."

Sambi entered the garage, but upon seeing his teammates locked in an embrace, he quietly turned around, gently closed the door and let them be.

The dimly lit room flickered to life as Sambi activated the display screen. Digital displays of a Liger Zero, a Shadow Fox, a Gun Sniper and a Raynos appeared on the large plasma monitor. Talis and Anna studied the Zoids and the information racing across the screen about the Zoids and their attributes.

"This…is the Blitz Team." began Sambi. "I am sure that you both have heard of them."

"Oh yeah." Said Anna. Talis just nodded his head as Anna petted it.

"They are about the most famous team in the world, considering their victories against the Berserk Fury and the Backdraft Group. It is quite humbling to say that they will be our next opponents."

"Yikes!" cried Anna.

"Calm down, hun. They haven't been Class-S very long." Re-assured Talis.

"Well, we haven't been a _team_ very long!"

Ignoring her, Talis ushered for Sambi to continue.

"The center of their team is Bit Cloud, who pilots a Liger Zero. It is very similar to your Liger Zero-X, Talis, except that he often changes its armor systems to better handle combat situations. Against your Liger Zero-X, I would expect his Jager Unit, or more likely the Schneider Unit. The former is fast, the latter uses blades."

"Makes sense."

The black fox Zoid carrying a gattling gun on its back and a raptor-type zoid, smothered in missile-launchers and sporting two massive gattling guns on its sides appeared on-screen. "The other Zoids are a Shadow Fox, which is a type that we have handled before, and should be no problem. Lastly, is a heavily armed Gun Sniper. The Gun Sniper, if taken out quickly enough, shouldn't be too much of a burden.

Anna raised her hand. "What about the Raynos?"

Sambi brought the image of the green pteranadon-type Zoid up on-screen. It had light cannons on its belly and a radar dish on its back. "The Blitz team occasionally uses that Zoid, but not often, and considering that we do not have any flying Zoids, I doubt that they would use it this time."

"Oh, okay."

"I've heard that they get a lot of direction from their big 'Hover-Cargo,'" said Talis, "The massive snail-like Zoid that carries the Zoids in its shell, then launches them from the top. The team's owner and the Raynos pilot stay inside and direct the team. That's an unfair advantage, if you ask me."

"I totally agree." Replied Sambi.

"What are you smiling about, Tally?" asked Anna.

"I think there's something we can do about that unfair advantage."

Talis hoped the shock of his slamming the door open would keep him safe. It did. Gekito jumped up from his position behind the table and collapsed to the floor.

"What the hell did you do that for?" he growled.

Talis took a bite out of the papaya he was carrying. "Just wanted to make sure that you weren't waiting behind the door, anxious to kill me."

Gekito licked his lips. "Of course I'm anxious to kill you. It's money for me."

"Still snippy, eh? Guess you can skip dinner, then." Johrenson took a big bite of his fruit as he turned around.

"No! Wait!" Gekito weakly stood back up and sat in his chair. "See? I'm all better. Please. Give me something to eat."

Talis smiled, then turned around and set a second papaya on the table. Leaning forward, he stared deep into his prisoner's eyes. "Here's your dinner. Now, there might be a steak dinner in it for you, if you tell me everything I need to know."

His prisoner's eyes bugged out. "Serious? You'd go that far?"

"There's someone trying to kill, me, bonehead! Don't you get it?" Standing back up he rubbed his head. Gekito tipped himself forward and took a chomp at the papaya. Talis opened his eyes back up, then got an idea.

Once again he reached into his pocket and lifted out his flip-coin. Despite the sloppy amount of fruit juice splattered on his face, Gekito looked nervous instead of embaraced. "What…what are you doing with that?"

Johrenson flipped it high into the air, caught it in his right hand and slapped it onto his left forearm without looking at it. "This is your life, scum-ball. Heads you live, tails you go out with the morning trash, understand?"

"But…but you can't just--."

"Why can't I? You want me dead! And you won't give me a chance to live!" Talis took a step closer. "All you have to do is tell me who put the bounty on my head!"

As the papaya juice dripped from his scruffy chin, Gekito stared solemnly down at the floor, then shrugged his shoulders. "Either way I'm dead, I guess." He looked up at Talis and gave a weak grin. "I did."

"You lie!" Talis leapt across the table and slammed a cross-hook into Gekito's cheek-bone, crashing the weakened prisoner into the wall and then flat to the floor onto his stomach. The Liger pilot then stood on the prisoner's back and yanked up on his handcuffed arms, pulling a shriek out of his opponent.

"P-please! I tell you the truth! Let me go!"

"I don't know what response you are trying to get out of me, Gekito, but you have really pissed me off!"

Sambi swung the door open with a look of concern on his face, which quickly turned into shock at the sight before him. "I heard commotion. What is going on here?"

Talis let Gekito's arms go and stepped off of his back. "Nothing. Nothing." He sighed and picked up the papayas. "Get this jerk a bowl of rice, then take him to the bathroom."

As Johrenson stomped out of the room, his former teammate called out to him. "You can't just ignore me, Talis. Keeping me here isn't stopping anything."

Feeling his face tighten to painful levels, the Liger Zero-X pilot spun around and glared. "And what do you think you can do to hurt me from in here? Spit?"

Gekito gave a sickening Cheshire-style grin. "I've been in cybernetic communication with my Saber Tiger ever since you captured me, and giving orders to my accomplices. Your bounty has tripled since yesterday." Talis strained to control his urges to strangle Gekito. "But don't worry, there is a way to redeem yourself."

"What is that?" asked Sambi.

"If you defeat the Blitz Team tomorrow, I'll take the bounty off of your head."

Talis blinked in confusion. "What have you got against the Blitz Team?"

Enjoying his newly acquired control of the situation, Gekito barked at his captor, "That is for me to worry about, not you! Defeat them, and I won't add bounties onto other members of this team."

"You son-of-a-! Who do you think you are?" barked Talis.

"Someone who can place bounties on your head with a mere thought, then have an automated bank account pay it if I die, that's who. I do not fear you, fool."

Talis stood in silence, squeezing his jaw shut and clenching his fists. Gekito had turned the tide in his favor. But the game was far from over. "C'mon, Sambi. Let's go find Anna and practice our maneuvers."

Sambi watched in confusion as his teammate walked out of the room with a fiery look in his eyes. "Yes, sir."

"What about letting me go?" asked Gekito.

"Quadruple it. I don't care anymore."

"I think you do."

"Why?" asked Talis as he turned around.

"Don't you want to know why I am doing this?"

Talis fought the urge to leave, then stepped back into the room. "Okay, what's your problem?"

"I need an assassin. Someone to defeat teams for me when I need to make a few bucks, or get rid of a team. It's as simple as that!"

Talis shook his head. "And you chose me because I'm good."

"Don't flatter yourself, moron! Look at you! You live in a dump in the middle of nowhere! I chose you because you'd be the easiest to control! Ha!" Gekito practically started dancing.

"You know what, Sambi, forget the rice." Johrenson slammed the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**Slide**

Towering atop the massive rocky mountainside like some sort of bizarre Zoid temple, the Hover-Cargo stared down at the over-burdened Gustav tugging the three trailers worth of robotic creatures. It was a rarity for the Bliz Team to reach a battlefield before its competitors, but with all of Talis' recent problems trying to save his life, he was a bit tardy.

The battlefield was a rarity as well. It was a smooth, sloped, canyon wall. The Zoid Battle Commission usually only liked flat fields of challenge, but Sambi requested the fairly level mountainside, and believe it or not, the Commission approved it. Talis could only imagine what the Blitz Team was thinking, but it made him smile.

At least something did.

As Anna backed her pink Rhimos off of the rear trailer, Sambi walked up to Talis, who stood next to the Rev Raptor's trailer. "It is set." Sambi handed over a small remote control.

Talis pocketed the device. "Good." He sighed. "Now, besides just worrying about the Blitz team's Royal Cup quality skill, we have to keep them away from our Gustav."

"Hey!" bellowed Anna over her Rhimos' bullhorn, "Are you guys coming or not? 'Cause here comes the Judge!"

Slowly trekking up the gravely mountainside, the Rev Raptor, Rhimos and Liger Zero-X marched towards the red, white and blue Hover-Cargo. Slightly snail-shaped, its head was cubical, and attached to a shell that was shaped like two massive ash-trays set up on their sides with their trays facing each other. Its appearance had often been called somewhat comical, but its abilities were legendary.

Talis, Sambi and Anna stopped their Zoids about three-hundred yards away from the Blitz-Team's transport, with Liger Zero-X in the center, the Rev Raptor on its left and Rhimos to the right.

A large curved panel near the Cargo's top opened up, and a long launch ramp extended out. Bolts of electricity scattered across the horizontal ramp, and moments later, the energy flung a black Shadow Fox of the Hover-Cargo. It landed hard on the ground about one hundred yards in front of the giant transport, but thanks to the gravel and sloped mountainside, slid another twenty yards.

Soon after, the electrical energy launched a heavily customized Gun Sniper, which landed just as hard on the ground, but slipped on the gravel, fell face-forward and slid on its stomach for fifteen yards.

The launch ramp sparkled one more time, and this time fired a Liger Zero from the inerds of the Hover-Cargo. As the lion-type Zoid pounded down and skid across the ground, spewing up rocks, Talis felt as though his reflection had fell to the ground. Two Liger Zeros now faced each other. It was no longer a question of which Zoid was more powerful; it was a question of raw pilot skill.

The launch ramp slid back behind the arced panel, and the Judge Capsule began to open. Having impounded itself into the sloped hillside, the capsule was tilted by ten degrees. When it opened, the Judge tipped over, and desperately grabbed at its pre-fab meteorite to keep itself upright. Despite a slight touch of humiliation in his voice, the Judge began the typical battle information call.

On a secure line, Talis called out to Sambi and Anna. "Remember to stick to the game plan. We can't lose this."

"It will work."

"All the way, Tally."

Pulling the remote from his pocket, Johrenson pressed its button. Talis then took out his flip coin. "Will it work?" Flicking it up, he caught it on his arm. "Damn."

"The Blitz Team versus the Liger-X Team. Battlemode nine-eight-three. The Liger-X Team versus the Blitz Team. Ready….Fight!"

Sambi and Anna broke hard for the Gun Sniper, and Talis pounced his Liger in between them and the other Blitz Team members as a blockade. It was a triple-team for the Gun Sniper.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" cried out the Sniper pilot, Leena Toros.

"Winning this duel." Replied Talis.

"That's just dirty!" growled the Liger Zero pilot, Bit Cloud. Charging his Zoid at the other Liger, he powered up its right Strike Laser Claw, and jumped into the air. It was a fast, deadly attack; one that had severely damaged dozens of Zoids.

But not Exaber.

Quickly lighting up its own right Strike Laser Claw, the Liger Zero-X jumped forward and hit the Blitz Team's Liger square in the chest, just as the black Liger's front right shoulder armor was shattered. Amazingly, its leg stayed on.

"Get away from me you jerks! Fight fair!" barked Leena.

"Sorry, hun, but we have a battle to win." Anna stampeded for the overburdened Gun Sniper, shooting its main cannons like crazy. Sambi's Rev Raptor sprinted towards the other Raptor's right side in a flanking maneuver, then leapt into the air, blades fully extended.

"Don't worry, Leena, I've got you covered." Brad's Shadow Fox jumped across the rocks, intending to save the Gun Sniper, but it was not to be. Breaking away from its skirmish with Liger Zero, Exaber spun around and fired off a pair of shots from its box cannon. Brad's Zoid rolled down the slope a good forty meters before it stopped.

Staring in pride at his accomplishment, Talis didn't notice the white Liger jump onto his Liger's back and slam it to the ground. Riding the dark Liger almost like a snowboard, Bit rode the Zoid downhill.

"Get off me, you moron!"

"Not a chance! This is how I fight dirty!"

As the Liger Zero-X rumbled down the slope, Talis straightened out its legs, then slapped down its paws and dug them into the ground. The Liger growled as it stopped, then using all of its strength, the Zoid pushed its chest back off of the ground and shoved the other Liger off of its back. Using what little time he had, Talis scrambled the Liger Zero-X' legs and sprinted down the mountainside, then cut right when his opponent opened fire on him. Unfortunately, the slippery slope caused his Zoid to stumble, therefore leaving itself open to a couple of shots.

Finally able to turn itself around, the Liger Zero-X faced its opponent at a distance of 150-meters, and quickly spread its blades. "I'm no stranger to fighting bladed Ligers," warned Bit, "This should be a piece of cake."

"Yeah, like your Strike Laser Claw maneuver was." Exaber started trotting for the other Liger.

That comment got under Cloud's skin. "You were just lucky! C'mon, Liger. Let's show this guy who's boss."

After Bit's Liger growled, Talis pushed Exaber into a lightning fast sprint; it was his trademark attack. He could tell that its speed and aim even caught Cloud by surprise. The white Liger jumped to its left, but was too late. Exaber's right blade scraped the right side of Liger Zero and tore the armor off of the front right leg.

"That's…that's impossible!" gasped Bit as the armor plating crashed to the ground and slid down the mountainside.

"It's called Liger Zero-X technology, and your old-fashioned Liger is no match for it."

"We'll see about that. Doc, get the Schneider Armor ready."

But there was no response.

"Doc? Are you there? What's going on?" Bit was beginning to panic.

Talis grinned. "Sorry to rain on your battle plans, Cloud, but I can't let you do any upgrades during our little skirmish."

"You snake! You can't cut off our communications! I'm calling the Judge!"

"Sorry, buddy, but he's a little deaf today, too. You can hear him, but it doesn't go the other way." Pangs of guilt started to tear at Talis, but he knew that he had no longer had a choice in the matter.

"What's the point of cheating? Money?"

Johrenson was tempted to spill everything to Bit. He wanted someone else to be on his side, but he just couldn't risk it. "I …look, there's just too much riding on this. You have to lose."

"Like heck I will."

White Liger Zero roared louder than Liger Zero-X ever had, and charged Talis.

Farther up the slope, Sambi's Rev Raptor ran its blade along the side of the Shadow Fox, but it wasn't a deep cut. The canine Zoid yelped in pain, but jumped away. After escaping the slash, it whipped around, raised its gattling cannon and open fire on the Raptor. The little Zoid jumped for its life, but got is tail blown off in the process. Sambi's little mangler spun around in smoking chaos and crashed.

"I've got you now. Since your Zoid hasn't had a System Freeze yet, this should get me a few extra bonus points." The Shadow Fox stepped closer and raised its cannon. But before he could finish off the Rev Raptor, he was broadsided by Anna's Rhimos. The Fox' cannon snapped off as the black Zoid rolled up the hill.

"Thank you, Anna. You have saved me." Said Sambi with great humility.

"Oh yeah, Raptor-boy? Well who's gonna save her? Weasel Unit: Total Assault!" As the Rhimos slowly turned around Anna shrieked in fear as a swarm of missiles and gattling fire swarmed from the over-abundance of launchers and cannons attached to the little Gun Sniper standing 75-yards down the hill.

A massive eruption of fire and gray smoke engulfed the pink Rhimos and Rev Raptor, sending nearly deafening blasting sounds into Sambi's ears. He cried out Anna's name in fear for her safety. Rocks and boulders began rolling down the hill; a few hit the Gun Sniper.

"Are you insane, woman? _Cough, cough._ We are two simple targets! You are not out here to kill your opponents!"

"Yeah, well now you're two piles of scrap. Thanks for the target practice!" gloated Leena from the cockpit of her obscene little Zoid.

Suddenly, as the haze from the explosions cleared, the little roar of a rhinoceros poured from the fog, and a charred black and pink Rhimos stampeded out of the smoke. It headed straight for the Gun Sniper, which took a step back, and tried to turn itself around.

"Get, get away from me!" cried Toros, but it was too late. Anna's enraged Zoid slammed the Raptor-Zoid fifty feet into the air and 80-yards down the mountainside, where it crashed onto the rocky ground and slid for another 30-yards.

"No one does that to Pinky. Ever." Gasped Anna before she passed out from strain. The little pink smasher then dropped to its knees and fell over.

With that, four Zoids were now out of the battle. All that remained were the Ligers.

"Go Liger!" Bit had the high ground, and made an amazing leap over Liger Zero-X, but once again, underestimated the X-Armor. Exaber fired itself straight up and tackled the white Liger mid-air. The two lions crashed to the ground and rolled down the mountainside, locked together by their legs.

After a quarter-mile of roll, they stopped, almost at the bottom of the slope, with Exaber on top. Using its front right claw, the Liger Zero-X slashed off the right faceplate of the white Liger. Bit shrieked in shock, but managed to use his Liger's box cannon to blast off Talis' Zoid and flip the white Liger back onto its feet.

"C'mon, buddy, we need to think of something, fast!" On the display screen inside of the cockpit, the Strike Laser Claw option appeared. "Are you kidding? We tried that once already, and it got you smashed-up pretty bad! No way!" His Liger growled, and the option wouldn't go away. "Okay, okay. We'll give it one more shot, but if you get slashed because of this, don't blame it on me!"

Talis sat in his Liger's cockpit and blinked his eyes. "The rumors about this guy talkin' to himself are true after all. Weird. Time to finish this duel." Exaber's blades swung out slowly this time, like some pervertedly thin wings. Then, the Zoid sprinted.

Once again, the Liger Zero-X rocketed towards the white Liger, but this time, his target was running back at him—with a charged left claw.

"He's insane!" Talis pushed himself even harder, and prepared a leaping slash; when the white Liger jumped into the air and pulled its leg back in a punching motion. Exaber jumped up to the left. There was a slight vibration, then—Liger Zero's claw smashed through Liger Zero-X's right blades! The white Liger's claw did the impossible—it shattered the blades!

The two Ligers landed on the ground and skidded down the hillside. _What just happened?_ The Liger Zero-X blades had been broken at the connection points before, that was nothing new, but the blades themselves were sworn to be indestructible. Blades like them cost more than the Liger itself. _What just happened?_ Supposedly, Cloud's Liger had shattered the Berserk Fury's blades, but Talis had never believed it. But…but now he had to._ Is this what an "Ultimate-X" can do?_

"Cloud! Cloud, do you realize what you've just done!" roared Talis.

Bit laughed as he gloated. "I think I've just put this battle in the bag."

Talis' eyes narrowed and his jaw molded to stone. "I told you I couldn't lose this battle, and I swear to you, I won't."

"What's your problem? I think you're taking this fight way too—yikes!"

Exaber sprinted up the hill and came back down in an arcing pattern, with its left blade still fully extended—and the front right shoulder joint sparkling. Bit turned Liger Zero to the right and started running back at the dark Zoid. "Okay, Liger, let's try it again. If it worked once…"

But this time, Talis had the high ground. Bit's Liger leapt up for another claw strike—but it couldn't get high enough—Talis slid Liger Zero-X to a stop, then as the White Liger sailed low over him, he jumped forward. The blade slashed across the rear right side of Liger Zero's body, cutting off its rear right leg at the knees.

"Yes!" cheered Talis as he sailed through the air—but the attack wasn't over. When Exaber landed, its weakened front right shoulder snapped. "What the--?" cried Johrenson. The leg flapped to the ground and the Liger Zero-X fell onto its front right side and slid a short distance down the mountainside. There had never been any complete cuts, but the front right shoulder had been scraped by three Laser Claw strikes, and it finally gave way.

"Battle over! Battle over!" yelled out the Judge from his crooked capsule. "All team participants have been defeated. There is no winner. The result is a draw!"

"What?" screamed Talis as he re-established communications. "A draw? You can't be serious! I beat him before he--!"

"If you have a complaint, please file it with the Zoid Battle Commission. My work here is done. Until next time!"

Talis jumped out of his Liger's cockpit and examined the damage. It was pretty beat up, but salvageable.

"Oh my gosh! Liger! Look what he did to my Liger!" Talis looked over to see Bit Cloud doing a panic dance next to his Zoid's broken leg. "He's never been this damaged before! And since it was a draw, how am I going to pay for repairs?"

"Relax, kid. At least you didn't lose priceless weapons."

Bit glared, then ran towards Talis. "You cheater! This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't cheated!"

I already told you, I had to win." Pulling the remote from his pocket, Talis looked over at his Gustav, then pushed the remote's button. A transmitter tower lowered on the Gustav's front side. Suddenly, calls from the Hover-Cargo began pouring in over the comm.

"Bit? Bit are you there? This is Doc on the Hover-Cargo. Can you hear me? Darn it, Jamie, keep working on it."

Talis stepped aside. "Use my Liger's transmitter. Same as yours."

Bit cautiously stepped over to the black Liger's controls and pressed a button. "I hear ya, Doc."

"Bit! Where are you calling from?"

"I'll explain later. I need help getting Liger up to the Hover-Cargo."

"Yeah, we saw everything. It will be very difficult to get the Hover-Cargo down the mountainside. Is there any other way to get Liger up here?"

Talis walked up to the cockpit and spoke. "I'll get it up on the Gustav, out."

"I don't need your help." Snapped Bit.

"We all need help, kid."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

**Destinies**

Talis and Sambi marched down the decrepit, dank hallway. It always amazed the Liger pilot how such a place with mold-ridden green walls could exist in the desert. But the moisture came from somewhere, and the sunlight sure didn't.

"Do you think our plan is wise?" asked Sambi."

"What plan, the plan we already did or the one you just thought up?"

"I do not remember thinking up any of our plans."

Johrenson spun around with an index finger raised, "Well, I sure as hell didn't think this new one up; it's crazy!"

Sambi blinked and scratched his neck, "Of course you don't; you were drunk when you thought of it."

"What?" denied Talis, "I don't remember being drunk! I remember sitting in the bar, thinking about what to do next, then…uh…coming home."

"If you are so confident," Sambi cracked a small grin, "Then tell me what the plan is."

"Why?" Talis coughed and lowered his finger.

"Because I can't seem to recall all the technicalities. Please refresh my memory."

Johrenson looked at his finger and wiggled it around, then scratched his ear with it. "Okay, so we need a new plan. Any ideas?"

Sambi sighed. "Just the one we discussed last night."

The door slammed open again, and Gekito jumped again. But this time, he was standing up, so he didn't crash to the floor.

"Afternoon, Gekky ol' buddy! How have you been?" asked Talis as he skipped into the room.

"I haven't eaten in twelve hours and I've been pissing in the corner. How do you think I've been?"

Talis made a clicking sound with his mouth. "So sorry. Guess you've learned not to fly coach again, eh, partner?"

Gekito's forehead shriveled with rage. "How dare you come in here and act like an imbecile! I've already told you that I can kill you with a thought, and you're pushing me beyond—"

"Whoa, whoa, there pal. Don't push yourself downhill too hard. I just came to tell you that…I'm letting you go!"

The enraged expression only slightly relaxed. "What?"

Talis stood to the side of the open door. "You're free!"

Gekito's face hardened more than ever. "What is your trick?"

"Look, you probably already know, but I didn't beat the Blitz Team. It was a draw, and who knows when I'll ever face them again. I can only hope that if I let you go, you'll be happy enough to leave my friends be. You can keep your stinking bounty on me if you want, I can take care of myself."

A smile slithered across Gekito's mouth. "Yes, I knew of your failures with the Blitz Team, but you achieved my goal nevertheless: you severely damaged the Liger Zero." The prisoner walked over to his captor and turned around so that his 'cuffs could be removed. "I will leave your friends alone and reduce your bounty, but it will never go away." Gekito looked at his stone-faced servant. "As long as I can use you for a Zoid-assassin, it will stand. But I will keep it low." The freed prisoner rubbed his sore wrists, then stared deep into Talis' raging eyes. "See you later."

Johrenson watched Gekito walk down the hallway laughing, then whispered, "Sooner than you think, jerk."

It wasn't often that you'd see a Zoid parked out in front of a tailor shop—in a city—but this was a small town out in the middle of nowhere. There were fewer buildings than there were Zoids—a stark contrast to a city. And usually in a town like this, a Zoid was more important than the building it was parked in front of.

Except today.

Talis sat cramped in the cockpit of his Liger Zero-X, keeping a sharp eye on the tailor shop that the ruby-red Saber Tiger had flopped its metallic butt in front of. Gekito had driven his Tiger here, then walked into the shop over two hours ago. Why he would need that long to buy some new clothes was beyond reasoning.

The dominating source of anxiety was the fact that the Liger-X Team had very little time to repair their Zoids since the battle with the Blitz Team. Exaber's leg was rush-repaired, but the Rev Raptor still had no tail. The Pink Rhimos was working, but only at half-power. All that, and they were about to face a full-strength Saber Tiger…

Lost in thought, and staring at the evening sunset, Talis nearly missed the tailor shop door swing open.

Nearly.

As Gekito climbed up into his Saber Tiger, wearing a nice tan and light-green outfit, Talis flicked the coin into the air, then checked it after it fell. Heads. Heads was a good thing.

Before the Tiger's cockpit closed, Liger Zero-X stood up out of the shadows behind the warehouse and roared. Gekito turned his head in panic, then quickly powered up his Zoid. Scrambling off down the street, the Saber Tiber broke off for the open desert. Talis followed, but at a moderate distance.

Gekito's image appeared on the HUD of the Liger. "You truly are an idiot. I am going to offer my entire fortune to the man that kills you!"

"Go ahead and try it."

Gekito's image looked deep in concentration, attempting to broadcast his thoughts with his special mental device, but after a few moments, hysteria spread across his eyes. "What—what have you done? You can't do this to me! You have no right to do this to me!"

"And what you have done to me is any more justified?" Talis increased Exaber's speed. "I am a more reasonable man than you, however. Leave town and never return, and I won't destroy your Zoid."

The laughter was annoying. "You think that you can destroy my Saber Tiger with your busted-up Liger Zero?"

"It's a Liger Zero-X."

Snorting, Gekito replied, "As if that makes a difference."

Talis cracked his knuckles. "It makes all the difference in the world."

"Not against Bit Cloud, it didn't."

After sitting in silence for a moment, Johrenson said, "So, do we have a deal?"

The Saber Tiger pirouetted on its left front leg and its eyes glowed green. "No." Jumping forward, the Tiger opened fire on Exaber and hit it a half-dozen times before the Liger was able to run east and get out of the way.

As the ruby-red Zoid skidded to a stop over the Liger Zero-X' former sitting spot, the Liger ran around, then made a hard right turn and fired a couple of shots from its box cannon, which shook up the Tiger. But distance was not on Talis' side. The Saber Tiger pounced toward the black Liger, which had to stand up to stop it. The two giant Zoid felines stood pressed against each other, desperately trying to throw the other one down. From a distance, they appeared to be engaged in some kind of twisted Zoid dance.

Just as Gekito was gaining the upper hand, and Exaber's weak leg was about to give way, a small stampeding sound rumbled across the ground. Before either pilot could see what was causing the noise, Anna's Pink Rhimos slammed into the Saber Tiger's back left leg. The leg didn't break, but it weakened the Zoid's stance enough so that it slipped to its left and came crashing down on top of Pinky—and brought the Liger Zero-X with it.

Now a massive pile of twisted Zoids, the mesh of opponents attempted to break free from each other, and unfortunately Gekito was the first to jump off. Quickly setting a firing stance, he unloaded a blaze of energy shells onto the members of the Liger-X Team.

"Ha! You fools! You and your dime-a-dozen Zoids are no match for my Saber Tiger! I don't need a bounty anymore, Talis Johrenson! I'll just kill you myself!"

But, as is the norm, Talis' life was saved yet again when his team's Gustav crashed into the ruby-red Saber Tiger and sent it rolling across the sand.

"S-Sambi?" asked Talis as he fought the ringing in his ears.

"Yes. I am afraid our Gustav's transmission-jamming tower is now destroyed."

"It's comin' out of your pay." Exaber, smoking and losing pieces of armor as it stood up, looked out towards Gekito's Zoid. "I'm through with this nice-guy stuff, Sambi. What I'm about to do isn't exactly legal."

"I saw nothing, my friend."

As its ruby-red target stood up, Liger Zero-X spread out its sole remaining stack of blades in a jousting position. The Saber Tiger opened fire on the Liger, but the blasts didn't stop it. "Talis!" cried Gekito, "Talis, you can't do this! Get away from me! No--!" The blades tore into the Tiger's mouth and main body, causing an energy eruption as they pierced into the Zoidcore, then shattered the main power supplies.

Gekito ejected and sailed through the air as his Zoid exploded, then crashed to the hard desert floor. Exaber's blades snapped off of their connectors to the Liger-Zero-X—but didn't break themselves.

Walking his Zoid next to Gekitos body laying limp out on the sand, Talis called out to him over the bullhorn, "So, how about that request to leave town?"

The beaten blackmailer rose up to his hands and knees, but remained looking at the ground. While nodding, he replied, "Fine."

"What was that?"

Looking up at the Liger with a glare, he repeated, "Fine!"

"Good. Get out. Now. No going back to town. Not even now. Go."

Gekito got up, brushed some dirt off of his new clothes and walked off into the desert.

Anna's image appeared on the HUD. "He could die out there, you know."

"Oh, what a shame."

"You could have least given him some water!"

"Let's go home, Anna."

Sitting on the roof of the garage, Talis and Anna leaned against one another and drank wine. It was quickly becoming their new custom, now that the level of stress in their lives had been greatly reduced.

"Sambi says we're fighting the Fire Griffins Team in two days." Said Anna.

"Yup."

"They're supposed to be really good. Nearly undefeated."

"Should be tough."

Anna leaned back. "Aren't you worried?"

Talis took a shot, then poured some more wine. "If I worry, I'll never be able to stay focused. Besides, I'll know what the outcome will be." He pulled his flip-coin out of his pocket, "I've got this." Anna quickly snatched it from his hand. "Hey!" He protested.

"What's the deal with this thing, anyways? Is it legal?" She started to bite it. Talis pulled it out of her mouth and she cried out in pain, then grabbed her mouth.

"Sorry. Look, it's got a lot of sentimental value, okay? And it always works."

After wiggling her tooth a couple of times, Anna asked, "So what's the story?"

Talis sighed, but gave up. "When I was sixteen, I wanted to pilot Zoids, so my dad began training me in the family's Guysak.. Less than a year later, I snuck the Zoid out, joined a team and got in a battle."

"Did you win?"

"No. I didn't win. After only one fight, the Guysak was massacred. It was beyond repair. I came home and got in a fight with my dad so strong that it sent me running away and never coming back."

"So where did the coin come from?" Anna held out her hand, and this time, received it in kindness. After Talis handed it to her, though, she could see that he was shaking.

"Seven years later, I learned that my father had died, and had left me something, When I went to pick it up, I was shocked to see that is was just a little wooden case with something rattling inside." Talis took a deep breath. "When I opened it, I found this coin, and a piece of paper. If you look at the coin, on the head's side is a picture of a Guysak, and the tail's side is a picture of my family's house."

"What did the paper say?" Now Anna's eyes were weakening.

"I won't tell you everything, but basically it told me that after I had run away, my father had made a coin out of a piece of the Guysak's claw, just for me, if he ever saw me again. If not, he would make sure I got it somehow, because I was still part of the family."

"That's sweet."

Talis took another sip of wine. "Yeah."

Anna handed the coin back to him. "What do you think the coin says about the two of us?"

"You sure you want to play the game of chance with our relationship?"

"Why not? I know how I feel about you."

"It's never been wrong so far." Warned Talis.

"Go for it."

Talis flicked the coin into the air…

**The End?**


End file.
